NSF PR 03-96 - September 10, 2003

Media contact:

Manny Van Pelt

(703) 292-7732

[email protected]

Program contact:

Hyman Field

(703) 292-5333

hfield @nsf.gov

Emmy Nods for NSF-Backed Public Television Science Programs, Grantee

ARLINGTON, Va.—Two television programs funded by the National Science Foundation and a foundation grantee were awarded Emmys by the National Television Academy at the 24th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards Sept. 3.

WGBH Boston's "Galileo's Battle for the Heavens," produced for the public television program Nova by Executive Producer Paula Apsell and Producer David Axelrod, was selected for one of two Emmys given for Outstanding Historical Programming (Long Form). The program, funded under NSF grant 9901978 - Lives in Science, is a two-hour historical exploration of the tribulations of Galileo Galilei, the man commonly known as "the father of modern science," who sought to present evidence supporting Nicolaus Copernicus’s heliocentric universe theory during the Inquisition.

Thirteen/WNET New York's five-part series "The Secret Life of the Brain," also funded by NSF, was chosen as best program in the category of Outstanding Science, Technology and Nature Programming. Executive Producers Beth Hoppe and David Grubin's program was funded under NSF grant 9705241 - Secret Life of the Brain.

Kellie Specter of Thirteen/WNET said the series "explored the startling new map of the brain that has emerged from the past decade of neuroscience and examined the dramatic advances made in the areas of addiction, depression, learning disorders, Alzheimer's disease, and even schizophrenia."

The talents of an NSF associate also played a part in Nova winning a second Emmy this year. Kelly Tyler, a grantee under NSF's Antarctic Artists and Writers Program who is presently documenting "Shackleton's Forgotten Party," was a producer for "Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance," the other Nova production that won this year's Emmy for Outstanding Historical Programming (Long Form).

"These programs were tremendous in illustrating unique stories of science that would have otherwise taken volumes of text to tell and years of study to understand," said Hyman Field, NSF's Senior Advisor for Public Understanding of Research. "The NSF family is proud to have supported their efforts."

-NSF-

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences: http://www.emmys.com/

Nova: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/

Thirteen/WNET New York: http://www.thirteen.org/index.php

“The Secrets of the Brain”: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/about.html

WGBH Boston: http://www.wgbh.org

Nova’s “Galileo's Battle for the Heavens”: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/galileo/

Kelly Tyler: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/events/shackleton/tyler.htm

NSF Antarctic Artists and Writers Program: http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/aawr.htm

NSF’s Directorate for Education and Human Resources, under the leadership of Dr. Judith A. Ramaley, guides the nation’s research-based education programs and initiatives at the elementary through high school, undergraduate and graduate levels to foster academic and professional pursuits in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The directorate’s 2003 funding by Congress was $903.17 million.

Science Literacy, a section of the Division of Elementary, Secondary & Informal Education under the EHR directorate, funds projects designed to inform the public about science, including television and radio programming, large format films, exhibits at science museums, and informal science education programs and activities that are offered by youth- and community-based organizations.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of nearly $5.3 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 30,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 10,000 new funding awards. The NSF also awards over $200 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

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